A Decade in Review
Once every 10 years a decade comes and goes, as the New Year approaches a new decade of Green Gaels Lacrosse begins. Preparations are well underway by staff as the season gets closer and closer and the excitement builds. This year the Founders Cup will be taking place just a short drive away as the Brampton Excelsiors play host to the historic tournament come August. Some of our players will take the floor as early January 6th when the DJLL opens its doors once more Monday. The 8 week league serves as a way for players to keep in shape and work on there skills before training camps for all the Junior Clubs open. Games take place every Monday night at Children's Arena in Oshawa.
During the 2010 season Conner Latimer led the Gaels in scoring during the regular season with 43 goals and 49 assists, while Matt Chamois went 13-0 in net. Head coach Jason Crosbie and the Gaels finished the regular season a perfect 20-0. The Gaels would win the first two round of the playoffs before bowing out to the eventual league champion Halton Hill Bulldogs in a deciding game 5 at Rickard.
The 2011 season saw Dylan Goddard not only break the 100 point mark but he left it in his dust scoring 41 goals and adding 84 assists, teammate Brendan Muise also broke the 100 point mark with 43 goals and 71 assists. Neil Roberts went 11-0 in net for the Gaels as they finished the season 19-1 having dropped a mid season game to the Ironheads 11-10 with AP goalie Chad Bryant in goal. Unfortunately the Gaels were once again unable to solve the Bulldogs come playoffs and fell in the conference finals. The Bulldogs went on to lose the championship to Six Nations.
In 2012 Goddard would again lead the Gaels in scoring coming up just two points short of his 2011 total, while Eric Pigden and Neil Roberts would split the season between the pipes. The team finished the season 17-1-2 this time the Gaels would face and sweep the Bulldogs in the second round before once again bowing out in the conference finals this time at the hands of the Akwesasne Indians.
Really no surprise that in 2013 Goddard once again lead the Gaels in scoring, again breaking the 100 point threshold on his way to 42 goals and 79 assists. Teammate Luke Laszkiewicz also broke 100 points by burying 53 goals and adding 48 assists. Neil Roberts led the way between the pipes going 15-1-1. The Gaels would sweep the Ironheads and get by Oakville, and once again would head to the conference finals. This time things would be different though, after Akwesasne took game one the Gaels would rally and win 3 straight and advance to the league finals. The Gaels would be blown out in game 1 before eventually losing the series 3 games to 1.
2014 was a season of change for the Gaels, for the first time of the decade the Gaels would be led by someone other then Head Coach Jason Crosbie, and the Scoring leader would not be Dylan Goddard. Brad MacArthur would take control of the Green Gaels bench leading them to a record of 17-3, while Brandon Staal would score 43 goals and add 50 assists to lead the Gaels in scoring.
Patrick Pollock would go a perfect 9-0 and Liam Wynne 8-3 as the two netminders shared the net. Defenceman Will Petschenig along with Jeremy Mcwatters and Connor Van Ryn led the team in scoring during the playoffs with 18 points but the Gaels would be unable to make the conference finals and were bounced in the second round by the Bulldogs.
2015 would see the Gaels end the season with an 18-2 record, the team would go without a true star forward with no player being able to crack even the 75 point mark. Mcwatters, Garlin, Fernandes and Craik would lead the team in points with 73, 68, 62 and 60 points respectively. Liam Wynne and Joel Watson would split time in goal with Wynne finishing 8-1 and Watson 10-1. While the Gaels would sweep the Ironheads in round 1 they would once again find themselves falling in round 2 when the Oakville Buzz would win the best of 5 series 3-2.
2016 would be a breakout year for Jeff Fernandes scoring 43 goals and adding 69 assists. Liam Wynne would carry the load in goal going 19-1. Things seemed to finally be going the Green Gaels way, Sweeping aside the Excelsiors in round 1 before going on to take revenge and eliminate both the Bulldogs and the Buzz on the way to the league finals. Orangeville would sweep the series however with the Gaels suffering two heart breaking one goal defeats along the way. Fortunately the story isn't quite over for the Gaels, with Orangeville hosting the Founders and having automatic entry the Gaels were headed to the big show. The Gaels would sweep the round robin portion of the tournament, defeating Nova Scotia, Calgary and Saskatchewan. Up next the Quarter Finals where the Gaels would take apart Manitoba in a 15-1 Victory. The Semi Finals would see the Gaels play their first real test of the tournament but even the Seneca Mohawks were no match for the Green and White, with the Gaels winning 14-7. With their ticket punched to the Finals the Green Gaels would face a familiar foe, the Orangeville Northmen. The Game began and the Gaels would open the scoring and lead 2-0 by the midway point of the period. Unfortunately after one period of play the game would be tied at 3 and Orangeville would go on to outscore the Gaels 4-1 in the second period. Two quick Powerplay goals by the Northmen to start the 3rd would put the game out of reach and the Gaels would fall 11-6.
2017 The Gaels would once again be led by Fernandes in scoring as he buried 31 goals and added 57 assists. Liam Wynne would go 13-3 between the pipes and the Gaels would finish the season 17-3. The Gaels would sweep Mississauga before going on to defeat the Oakville Buzz and Akwesasne Indians, returning to the finals once again. A familiar foe awaited the Gaels, The Orangeville Northmen. The Gaels would take Game 1 and 3 by a goal, falling in game two 7-6, so close to there first Founders Cup of the decade. With there backs against the wall the Northmen would go on to win 13-8 and then take the series with a decisive 13-5 blowout.
2018 would see Joel Johnson step in to fill the shoes of Brad MacArthur who left the team to focus on his duties with the Brooklin Lacrosse Club. The team finished 18-2 with Jeremy McWatters leading the team in scoring (43 goals and 68 assists) and Steve Walsh leading the way in goal going 11-2 for the Gaels. The Gaels would return to the finals for a 3rd straight year after sweeping the Saints and Hunters and defeating the Indians 3-2. The Gaels would drop game 1 and 2 to the Elora Mohawks before a huge 8-4 win at the Rickard kept the team alive. Alas the Mohawks would come to play in game 4 taking the game 10-4 and the Series.
2019 a year to forget. The Gaels would be taken out in the first round of the playoffs by the Ironheads. The team was led throughout the regular season by Brock Haley (50 goals and 59 assists) and between the pipes Steve Walsh would go 14-1.
While it may have been a difficult decade in someways with the Gaels failing to bring home a championship there were many positives to focus on. The Gaels made the playoffs all 10 years, made it to the second round all but once. 3 straight trips to the finals and a shot at the Founders cup are all things many other teams could only dream about.
Family Honour Pride Tradition
We would like to thank everyone who made this decade of Green Gaels Lacrosse possible, Our Sponsors, Staff, Volunteers, Players, Parents and You the Fans. THANK YOU. We want to wish everyone a safe and happy New Years and we look forward to seeing everyone very soon when the 2020 season gets underway at Rickard in Late April/Early May.